Saturday, November 4, 2017

Marijuana being trimmed at a farm in California. The American Legion asked Congress to remove the drug from the list of Schedule 1 narcotics. Credit Jim Wilson/The New York TimesAmong critics of the federal prohibition of marijuana — a diverse and bipartisan group that includes both criminal justice reform advocates and Big Alcohol — the American Legion and its allies stand out.

The authors stress that their results are preliminary, given that their study encompasses only two years of data after the state's first recreational marijuana shops opened in 2014.

While numerous studies have shown an association between medical marijuana legalization and opioid overdose deaths, this report is one of the first to look at the impact of recreational marijuana laws on opioid deaths.

Marijuana is often highly effective at treating the same types of chronic pain that patients are often prescribed opiates for. Given the choice between marijuana and opiates, many patients appear to be opting for the former.

From a public health standpoint, this is a positive development, considering that relative to opiates, marijuana carries essentially zero risk of fatal overdose.

Now, the study in the American Journal of Public Health suggests that similar findings hold true for recreational marijuana legalization. The authors examined trends in monthly opiate overdose fatalities in Colorado before and after the state's recreational marijuana market opened in 2014. They attempted to isolate the effect of recreational, rather than medical, marijuana by comparing Colorado to Nevada, which allowed medical but not recreational marijuana during that period.

They also attempted to correct for a change in Colorado's prescription-drug-monitoring program that happened during the study period. That change required all opioid prescribers to register with, but not necessarily use, the program in 2014.

Overall, after controlling for both medical marijuana and the prescription-drug-monitoring change, the study found that after Colorado implemented its recreational marijuana law, opioid deaths fell by 6.5 percent in the following two years.

The authors say policymakers will want to keep a close eye on the numbers in the coming years to see whether the trend continues. They'd also like to see whether their results are replicated in other states that recently approved recreational marijuana, such as Washington and Oregon.

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Source: The above story is based on materials provided by WASHINGTONPOST

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Image Source: 420MAGAZINESessions warned four governors in letters released last week that he had “serious concerns” about the effects of legalization and suggested the states’ drug detente with the Justice Department was at risk.How ironic is it that conservatives who routinely criticize the federal government’s allegedly heavy-handed intrusions into state and local affairs seem to have no problem with such interventions when the overreach happens to advance policies dear to their own hearts?

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Considering cannabis for pain relief? Include your MD in decision-making.Shutterstock; David Mack\Getty ImagesMedical marijuana is legal in more than half the states in the US, and it is commonly used to treat chronic pain. Here’s how to discuss this treatment option with your doctor.Have you ever discussed cannabis with your doctor? Despite the fact that 29 states plus the District of Columbia have decriminalized the use of marijuana for the treatment of certain medical problems, research published in the September 2017 journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that nine out of ten doctors were unprepared to prescribe it to their patients. “Most doctors don’t know much about it, even in the states where it is legal,” says Rav Ivker, DO, a holistic family physician in Boulder, Colorado and author of Cannabis for Chronic Pain: A Proven Prescription for Using Marijuana to Relieve Your Pain and Heal Your Life.

Saturday, September 30, 2017

There's currently a lot of roadblocks to researching medical marijuana – and a growing number of people in Congress want that to change. James MacDonald/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesMembers of Congress from across the political spectrum are pushing for pot research – but can they change Jeff Sessions' mind?Some Utah residents are working overtime to get medical marijuana on the state’s ballot next year. They seem to have just gotten a surprising new Republican ally in their effort – Senator Orrin Hatch.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty ImagesUnder the laws of 29 states and Washington, D.C., patients seeking medical marijuana must get official recommendations from doctors. But a local lawmaker in the nation's capital is looking to change that.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Two days of lobbying by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (left), seen here with Rep. Jared Polis, couldn't save his amendment.In a significant blow to medical marijuana advocates, patients, and cannabis companies around the nation, the House Rules Committee has blocked protections for MMJ patients and banks that want to serve state-legal cannabis businesses.

Saturday, September 2, 2017

A leading veterinary organization is joining the fight to reschedule cannabis in an effort to speed research into the plant’s effects on our furry friends.The American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA) approved a resolution at its conference last month to begin exploring how to advocate that cannabis be rescheduled federally, moving it from Schedule I to Schedule II. The move would increase opportunities to research cannabis for therapeutic use among both animals and humans.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Some very powerful people are trying to corner the market on legal weed and turn their company into the Monsanto of marijuana. Who are they? And can they be stopped?The search for the hidden forces that might soon control the marijuana industry began, as many wild journeys do, in Las Vegas. It was last November, and I was party-hopping at the biggest weed-business gathering of the year, a week of overlapping conferences and decadent soirees. I was a few blocks off the Strip, celebrating a new line of bongs and pipes in a penthouse with chandeliers and dark-wood furniture, when I happened to meet a faunlike 40-something man named after a character from The Jungle Book: Mowgli Holmes.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

An arm of the White House’s antidrug office has asked Massachusetts and several other states where medical marijuana is legal to turn over information about registered patients, triggering a debate over privacy rights and whether state officials should cooperate with a federal administration that appears hostile to the drug.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

This undated photo provided by Maui Grown Therapies shows medicinal cannabis grown in the dispensary's production centers in Upcountry Maui, Hawaii. Dispensary sales of medical marijuana in Hawaii are beginning after patients waited 17 years for a legal way to purchase the drug. Maui Grown Therapies was the first dispensary in the state to sell medical marijuana to patients. (Maui Grown Therapies via AP)Maui Grown Therapies received approval from the Department of Health to begin selling medical cannabis Tuesday.

Saturday, August 5, 2017

(GeorgeManga/iStock)Cannabis and opioids are both known for their analgesic, pain-relieving effects. However, opioids are highly addictive—between 1999 and 2014, sales of prescription opioids in the United States quadrupled, with staggering increases in overdoses. In the healthcare system, 49% of patients seeking treatment for pain leave with a prescription. Because the risk of addiction and overdose associated with opioids is so great, finding a drug substitute with less abuse potential is critical.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

It can be hard for medical marijuana patients to get to a dispensary if for example they are homebound, elderly or suffer from seizures and can’t drive. A patchwork of delivery services has been expanding around the country, based on each state, county or city’s laws.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, doctors said Wednesday evening.Gage Skidmore/Creative CommonsShould U.S. Senator John McCain get an Arizona medical-marijuana card, now that he's been diagnosed with glioblastoma?

He qualifies for the right to possess and use cannabis under Arizona law, and cannabis is well-known for its effectiveness in helping patients cope with chemotherapy.

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

In what appears to be a first-of-its-kind ruling, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Monday said that employees can’t be fired simply for using medical cannabis. Such terminations, the court said, violate state antidiscrimination rules.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Listen to Emmanuel Garza explain why he wanted House Bill 2107 — which would've expanded the use of medical marijuana — to pass. Emmanuel Garza moved from Texas to Colorado so his baby daughter could get the medical marijuana treatment she needed. Legislation to legalize the same treatment in Texas failed to pass during the regular legislative session. Madelynn Garza had her first seizure at three months old.She was born with Aicardi Syndrome, a disease affecting nearly 4,000 people worldwide that caused her infantile spasms and made her legally blind. Now that Madelynn is almost two, her parents say they’re not sure whether she’ll ever walk or speak, or how long she'll live.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

GettyCannabis is currently not classified or typically thought of as a psychedelic, but some mental health professionals say they would like to change that. It has been suggested that psychedelics – such as mushrooms – could also treat depression, PTSD, alcoholism, and so on. And psychiatrists also now believe that cannabis has some psychedelic properties that could be beneficial in treating various mental disorders. While this is certainly not news to anyone privy to the vast benefits of cannabis medicine, the study put out by these mental health professionals raises some interesting points.